Is This the Way It Ought to Stay?
by Thorsten P. Ziegler
Summary: One summer night after her 5th year Lily Evans thinks about her former friend Severus Snape and sees things that might change her mind about him... or perhaps she'll never change her mind... A songfic of sorts
1. A Lonely Summer Night

This story takes place the summer after Severus and Lily's 5th year at Hogwarts (after the "mudblood incident"). The song is "That's the Way" by Led Zeppelin and is in bold and italicized. This story will consist of 3 chapters and I'll probably have the whole thing posted by the end of the week at the latest. Enjoy!

DON'T OWN DON'T SUE :P

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

_**I don't know how I'm gonna tell you, I can't play with you no more,**_

_**I don't know how I'm gonna do what mama told me, My friend, the boy next door.**_

_**I can't believe what people saying, You're gonna let your hair hang down,**_

_**I'm satisfied to sit here working all day long, You're in the darker side of town.**_

Lily was feeling particularly lonely one summer evening. Her friends had yet to respond to any of the owls she had sent them and there was no point in seeking Petunia's company, even if she were home and not out with that Dursley fellow she and Petunia had slowly but surely begun to drift apart the day Severus had told Lily she was a witch.

Severus. Usually Lily would never have found herself in want of someone to keep her company as she had always had Severus, but not this summer. Lily suddenly became angry as thoughts of Severus invaded her mind. She still couldn't understand how after years of friendship Severus could possibly have called her that horrible dirty word. She would have considered it unacceptable if he had used it on anyone else but she couldn't understand what on earth had possessed him to say it to her of all people and after she had tried to help him; it had been absolutely unforgivable and she had made that absolutely clear when he came begging for forgiveness.

He couldn't possibly be truly sorry, she had watched him willingly go down that dark path he was now on. She had heard from her friends at Hogwarts what Severus and that gang of Slytherin's he was always with were always up to. Lily had always imagined he stood by watching behind his curtains of long black hair, much like Remus Lupin seemed to do with the Marauders, but their stories told of his active participation. Incidents like these would only repeat themselves. Or at least that's what she kept telling herself.

Suddenly she felt something warm and wet splash on her hand and realized that she had been crying. She sat quietly a few moments before wiping away the tears on her cheeks. She could have remained seated on her bed pushing all thoughts of Severus Snape into the deepest corners of her mind until the sun peaked out over the horizon but she felt a sudden urge to get up and go somewhere, anywhere. Lily stood up from her bed and grabbed her coat, she fumbled with the buttons then pocketed her wand before rushing out of her room, down the stairs, and out the front door. She walked into the dark abyss of night heading wherever her feet and subconscious decided to lead her.

=-=-=-=-=-=-

Please R&R especially if you want to fix my horrid grammar :)


	2. Where We First Met

A special thanks to duj, my single reviewer (so far). Thanks for your input!

DON'T OWN DON'T SUE

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Lily went from lamp post to lamp post escaping the darkness for a few moments at a time, it was like playing connect the dots as she went from one point of light to the next. If anyone had happened to see her this unusually cold summer night they wouldn't have recognized her. Lily Evans, who walked everywhere she went with happy confidence, now walked round-shouldered, her hands deep in her pockets, and her eyes fixed on her feet as they rhythmically slapped the pavement, she looked as if she was in a trance. Anyone who could have seen her that night would have mistaken her mannerisms for those of that boy from Spinner's End she was always with, that dark boy with the strange name.

After what felt to her like an eternity Lily snapped out of the stupor she had found herself in and looked up. She instantly realized where she was. She had gone to the place she and Severus had first met all those years ago. It seemed ironic to her that they had met and parted with an insult, at least that's what she had thought when he had told her she was a witch, in any case they had parted ways because of an insult that couldn't be so easily explained away. Lily sighed, her relationship with Petunia and Severus had changed but this place looked very much the same.

The fireflies that danced around the swings caught her attention and the soft swirling glow of the tiny flying insects beckoned her toward the swing set. Her hand reached out and she touched the chain attempting to steady the swing from the light breeze that gently moved it about, it felt cold against the soft flesh of her palm. Lily slowly lowered herself onto the swing. She had never felt so alone.

=-=-=-=-=-=-

Sorry this is so short, I had intended to make this chapter a lot longer but work has kept me busy.

FYI: It's been a while since I've read any of the HP books from cover to cover, the majority of them came out when I was in middle school and high school and I had much more time to read back in those days. So basically I'd like you to bear with any mistakes I may make about the HP universe and if you could bring them to my attention that would be great as I plan to edit this story after I post the final chapter so the more reviews the better I can make this story :)

Also, in case I didn't make it clear in these first chapter (I'm almost positive I didn't _ ), although this story isn't a major Lily bashing story I really HATE what she did to Severus in the book so this story does put her in a slightly negative light.

R&R!

~Ziggy


End file.
